Ask a Trust Officer: Charitable IRA Giving

Dear Trust Officer: I’ve heard of something called a “charitable IRA rollover.” What is that? — Generous, but Prudent DEAR GENEROUS, BUT PRUDENT: If you are older than 70½, you are permitted to arrange for a tax-free transfer of up to $100,000 per year from your IRA to the charity of your choice.  This is […]

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Reasonable Developments

Stock prices continue to churn, to put it kindly. By finishing Thanksgiving week 3.79% lower, the S&P 500 added another 10% correction (from the September 20th high) to the 2018 record book. The current negative mood may continue for a few more weeks and percentage points but at the moment, a bear market decline of […]

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International Issues

Treasury note yields pushed lower as investors raised allocations to what were deemed to be safer assets. The 10-year note yield ended the week 18 basis points lower at 3.06% and the 2-year note finished 12 basis points lower at a yield of 2.80%. Stocks were lower last week with the S&P 500 settling down […]

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An Inheritance Protection Plan

Estate planners and trust officers often hear the question: “How can I keep my money out of the hands of my child’s spouse?”  There can be many motivations for this attitude—perhaps the son-in-law or daughter-in-law lacks financial maturity, or has a substance abuse problem, or the parent thinks that the marriage itself might not last. […]

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Fundamental Support From Earnings

Although the S&P 500 finished 2.13% higher for the week, the correction’s presence continued to be felt with a decline of more than 1% in the final two days of the week. Fundamentals continue to be positive and the outlook for 2019 remains upbeat. Factset Research Systems Inc provides the following points from this season’s […]

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Like-kind Exchanges Changed

Internal Revenue Code Section 1031 provides that an exchange of things that are alike will not be taxable except to the extent that cash changes hands.  The most important application of this provision has been in the area of exchanges of real estate, but it also has been applied in other contexts as well, such […]

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October Surprises

An October Surprise is typically a phrase used in politics to describe an orchestrated event timed to be sprung in the weeks immediately preceding a November election. It is difficult to imagine a surprise this October which could have stood out among this year’s already overabundant supply of orchestrated political events. Instead, we will use […]

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Retirement Plan Limits Bumped Up for 2019

To make it possible for voluntary retirement savings to keep up with inflation, the various numerical limits embedded within qualified retirement plans are indexed for inflation.   The big news today is that the IRA contribution limit goes from $5,500 to $6,000, if the individual is younger than age 50 in 2019, and $7,000 if he […]

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